Velvet Scratch

Conceived and directed by Anastasia Revi
Voted Best Show at Prague International Fringe Festival (2007)
Nominated for Total Theatre Award at Edinburgh Fringe Festival (2007)

Margot, the ”good witch” of a rather odd little lonesome town wakes up to find herself in an even stranger place – the underworld. There she meets Rory the Rubbish Man, Bruno the Cook, Vivian the Duchess, Druna the Dreamer and Edgar the Mayor… . How come they are all here…? What happened to their lonesome little town…? What happened to the ”big day” they all worked so hard for…? A vibrant underworld comes to life with powerful images, live music and theatrical animation with a contemporary touch. The innocent and the macabre come together with the dynamic visual style of Theatre Lab Company to create a magical fairytale world.

Credits

Creative and Production Team
Conceived and Directed by Anastasia Revi
Designed by Maira Vazeou & Alan R. Brooker
Original music by Jonathan Bratoëff
Production by Alexandra Dyranis-Maounis, Martina Reynolds

Press

Anyone looking for a macabre, visually irresistible, fantasy tale should check out Theatre Lab Company’s Velvet Scratch – Voyage of No Return. Fans of Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) and Gabriel Garcia Marquez (One Hundred Years of Solitude) will no doubt love this surprising and enchanting production.
TIME OUT, New York

A fascinating and sinister tale… The clever and dark style of the play reminded me of Tim Burton and Edgar Allan Poe. Velvet Scratch – Voyage of No Return is a great production.
FRINGETASTIC, New York

Velvet Scratch is a rare treat: a piece of wildly experimental theatre that remains accessible and spellbinding to the last second … a stunningly visual story that has all the qualities of a dream. The most significant error of judgement in this weird little gem is to limit it to just seven performances.
Adam Knight, FEST – THE SKINNY ****

A DELICIOUSLY dark opening segment, complete with the crushing of strawberries, hints at the potential sensory delights of this piece.
Anna Millar, THE SCOTSMAN ****

Imagine Tim Burton directing a film version of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s short story collection Innocent Erendira, and you’ll have some vague idea of the stylishness and inventiveness of Theatre Lab’s Velvet Scratch. Director/concocter Anastasia Revi is a gourmet of images. The level of invention in Velvet Scratch is breathtaking, and the whole is bloody beautiful. Without doubt, this is currently the piece that I’m telling everyone that they must go see. This is exciting theatre.
PRAGUE POST. Voted No. 1 show

Oh, the smell of fresh strawberries… Ravens, bloody hearts, undead, the underworld. Edgar Allan Poe and Tim Burton seem to have paid a brief visit to the Theatre Lab in London. Theatre Lab Company’s latest production is a quirky and macabre piece of simple storytelling. We are introduced to the underworld through the narrator’s cry for the tastes of life – of blood – visually symbolized by (lovely smelling) strawberries being crushed in her hands. The strawberries will return… It’s worth it.
PRAGUE TV

The Gothic decay, the supernatural mystery and death, filter through malicious irony, romantic humour and self inflicted paradoxes (Tiger Lillies without the song, Poe without terror). The (actors’) presences that work as a continuous part of the deserted landscape fill up the space with an overwhelming energy of real theatre and virtuosity.
ELEFTHEROTYPIA, Athens

I was lured into the dark, post-Goth universe of ‘Velvet Scratch’, an incredible performance from London to Athens, at Hora Theatre. A theatrical poem about love and death…
BIG FISH, Athens

If you decide to see Velvet Scratch, be prepared for one of the most astonishing performances. I am talking about a very dynamic play that combines physical theatre and audiovisual spectacle surpassing cultural boundaries, the typical and the taboo. A piece of work that is truly a poetic masterpiece in every level with a text that speaks to everyone’s heart. Don’t miss it!!!
GO CULTURE, Athens